The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) filed a proposed rule change with the Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt FINRA Rule 2081 that would prohibit broker dealers and associated persons from conditioning the settlement of a customer dispute on the customer agreeing to expunge the information regarding the dispute from the Central Registration Depository (CRD). On February 13, the FINRA Board of Governors approved the filing of the proposed rule with the SEC. FINRA did not solicit public comment for the proposed rule. The CRD system contains a variety of licensing and registration information, including administrative and disciplinary information about registered personnel. Information accessible by the public through FINRA’s BrokerCheck comes from the CRD system. FINRA acknowledged that it had taken steps to prevent bargained-for expungement as part of a settlement agreement, but it continued to have concerns with respect to such conduct, which would be expressly prohibited by the proposed rule. The effective date of the proposed rule will be 90 days following SEC approval.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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